Not-so-Occasional Comments on Life,
Death and Many Things in Between
by Laurie Mann

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Why Do My Favorite Sites Hate Nearsighted People?

There have always been Web sites that have been triumphs of form over function. The look of the site mattered more than the content.

My favorite sites have always been the ones where the content is the most important thing. I read IMDB, Yahoo and CNN regularly.

Unfortunately, the recent redesigns of IMDB and Yahoo are both hostile to nearsighted people. The basic type is way too small. Some Web sites let the user set preferences for type size and colors, but not IMDB or Yahoo. The user has no control over the display of the page. The only thing the user can do is up the size from the browser View option, but then you have to reset it whenever you leave the site where the text is too small.

I'd sent comments complaining about these problems to both sites when they were in beta. And I can't believe that I was the only one. However, the main font size is still too small.

It's frustrating that companies don't give a damn about Web site readability.

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About Me

Born in Vermont, raised in Massachusetts, after high school in 1975 moved to Pittsburgh for college. Met many people but, in particular Jim Mann and we got married in 1977. Had a daughter in Ohio in 1980, moved back to Massachusetts in 1982. Worked for Stratus Computer from 1983-1993 and moved back to Pittsburgh. Various jobs including a three year stint at Ansys. Returned to the University of Pittsburgh to finish my degree in 2000. Since then, odd jobs, volunteer work, self-employment and unemployment in various degrees.